


Nageire

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: Mai-HiME
Genre: Bondage, F/F, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 12:23:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17043665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: Shizuru decides to do something special for her and Natsuki's anniversary.





	Nageire

**Author's Note:**

> Commissioned by kasumikamigawa!

When Shizuru invited her to a well-respected teahouse for their anniversary, Natsuki wasn't exactly surprised.

Shizuru reveled in the careful ritual of such things, tradition made salient in a thousand subtle gestures and actions. She knew the ceremony inside and out, yet still took pleasure in experiencing the unique atmosphere that different masters carried with them. Natsuki enjoyed the quiet and company of Shizuru's presence more than anything else, so if it made her happy to attend yet another teahouse, that was where Natsuki would be.

She had promised to meet Shizuru there, hands smoothing down the line of her kimono as she approached the low door in front. It was the finest she owned, cast in deep blue with waves flowing around her legs, pale seafoam tapering upward into the lighter color of the sky.

With the drape of fabric gathered in one hand, Natsuki slid the door open with the other and stooped to make her way through the door. Her head stayed low and humble, eyes sweeping the floor to find where Shizuru knelt so they could sit together, but the tatami was empty, save for the gentle warmth of the hearth in its center.

She was a minute or two early, but Shizuru cleaved to punctuality and decorum whenever they were out in public. Natsuki knew there was no way she had arrived first.

Her first instinct was to reach for where her phone was tucked away, but before she could, the door across from Natsuki slid open with a whisper, like two sheets of paper drawn apart.

Shizuru stood there in a glorious kimono of deep purple, the swath of color severed by an obi of black silk. That Natsuki had seen before, but not the designs of crimson coral imprinted all over, jagged but beautiful. From one angle the sharp flow of red could be mistaken for flame; from another, the path of blood through flesh. It was striking and unexpected, but not so much as the fact that Shizuru was standing in the master's space, completely alone.

"Natsuki." Warmth suffused Shizuru's voice the way cloves soaked through Otoso sake, powerful and healing.

She would never tire of the way Shizuru said her name.

"I thought we were attending a ceremony," Natsuki said softly, alert for whatever she had missed.

"Oh, but we are." With a sweep of red-bound sleeves, Shizuru directed Natsuki into the smaller room which she had come from. "Or rather, you will be in attendance. I shall be hosting."

Now this really didn't make sense. Natsuki had to bow under the low door to enter, but it was a compact enough space that it was easier to tuck her legs beneath her and sit. Shizuru drew the door shut again, cutting them off from the hearth with a delicate screen.

"Hosting who?" Natsuki asked. In this room, they were half-cut in shadow, the only light filtering in through the other side. "Isn't this a date?"

Shizuru's smile was small, but possessed an edge more keen than any dagger. "Our friends will arrive in half an hour, if they're on time. I already have everything prepared for them, so I need only prepare you."

The way she emphasized the word _prepare_ sent a shiver up Natsuki's spine. By this point, she had memorized the ceremony by sheer exposure, but Shizuru never smiled like that when the matter at hand was tea. No, that look was for her and her alone.

Shizuru dropped to her knees as well, legs tucked beneath herself in perfect, practiced form. Even in the dim light, they were close enough that Natsuki could read every detail of her lover's face.

"Do you want to know what I've observed?" Shizuru's tone was casual, almost sly, but the question felt like anything but.

"No," Natsuki answered, wary. How could she know what this was about at all, even with prickles of anticipation dancing along her skin?

"When we're in bed together, you like when I hold your wrists down. Or your hips. A hand on the back of your neck, even." Despite the intimate subject matter, Shizuru's voice never wavered once, sedate as a priestess. "But it is hard for me to do so when my hands are occupied elsewhere."

"Shizuru!" Even though there should have been no one else in the teahouse, Natsuki glanced around, making sure they were alone. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"I'd like to make sure my assumption is correct first." Slender fingers hooked under Natsuki's chin, drawing her attention to the wealth of color that was Shizuru's eyes. "Do you like being tied up, my dear?"

Heat ignited across Natsuki's cheeks until she nearly matched the coral decorating the other woman's kimono. "Y-yes, I suppose."

"Yes, you suppose, or _yes_ , this is something you want?" Shizuru clarified.

Natsuki swallowed hard, waiting for the tide of embarrassment to withdraw before she answered. "Yes. It's something I want."

"I thought so." Shizuru smiled, her hand falling from Natsuki's face. "Which is why I bought you a present for our anniversary."

The mention of a gift had Natsuki set to protest--they always did something as a couple, never exchanging tokens of affection--but she watched as Shizuru reached into a bamboo box on the floor. Before she touched it, the box had been so nondescript as to escape Natsuki's attention entirely.

A length of byzantium purple rope rose between Shizuru's fingers, wrapped against itself in a pristine coil. It was soft, narrow cord, clearly woven by a professional's hand and worked until it was smooth to the touch.

"I bought the rope," Shizuru began, offering it to Natsuki with both hands, "but I did dye it myself. It seemed only fitting to bind you in my color."

Stunned, Natsuki fumbled for the right words to say as she gripped the rope. It gave under her hands with a squeeze, but when she pulled a length of it taut, the strength behind the cord was utterly unyielding.

"You want to tie me up with this?" She managed to ask, breathless.

"I do." Shizuru's smile was brighter than ever. "And there's no need to be embarrassed, Natsuki. I've never judged your desires, just as you have welcomed mine."

"But then why are we here?" Natsuki returned the rope to Shizuru with as much respect as it had been offered. "Why are we dressed up like this?"

Shizuru started to unwind the rope from itself, running it through her fingers to ensure there were no kinks or rough spots. "That's part of the game, my dear."

Natsuki's heart jumped up into her throat, chased by adrenaline. "What game?"

"You'll be in here," Shizuru murmured, folding the cord in half to create a simple loop, "while I perform the ceremony."

"Wait." Natsuki's blush renewed itself on her cheeks, hotter than ever. "While you serve tea to our friends?"

The glint in Shizuru's eyes said everything. "You don't have to worry, Natsuki. You won't be going anywhere."

Even thinking about that flustered Natsuki beyond belief, yet the ache that answered between her thighs was unbelievably intense. She enjoyed it when Shizuru took the lead, using a firm but guiding hand, but had never found the will to ask for more. It scratched against the part of her that had been a Hime for so long, knowing that being bound meant she was helpless, turned over to someone else's hands.

She couldn't afford to be weak, not then. Even if Shizuru had been waiting to catch her the entire time.

Natsuki knew the sensible thing to say was that this was risky, even ridiculous. What came out of her mouth was something else entirely.

"How do you want me?" she asked, whisper-soft.

"Rise up on your knees," Shizuru answered, not bothering to conceal her delight. "Then stay nice and still."

She obeyed, and Shizuru brought the loop around her waist before feeding the remaining length of the rope back through it. The cord tightened like a belt around Natsuki's waist as it was brought around again, then drawn down into a loose knot.

"You're doing this over my clothes?" Natsuki asked, a touch confused.

"We wouldn't want anyone to find you indecent, would we?" A soft laugh left Shizuru's lips. "I think you'll find it stimulating enough by the time I'm done, Natsuki."

With one end in each hand, Shizuru drew the rope between Natsuki's legs and around the back of her thighs, taking the the blue hem of her kimono with it. A gasp caught in Natsuki's throat as the cord was pulled up and tight, the friction reverberating even through layers of fabric. Shizuru tucked the strands into the binding around her waist, then looped them through once more, completing a harness around her hips. Natsuki did her best to keep still, for every subtle movement stirred the cords trapped between her legs.

"Lean back against your feet now," Shizuru whispered, the order tender but unambiguous, "and raise your arms up. Palms pressed together behind your head."

It took a moment for Natsuki to process the chain of commands, but as soon as she obeyed the first one, the rope went taut again, and she had to hold in a moan between her teeth. Sitting as she was, the cords rubbed back and forth with even a twitch of muscle, framing her clit between them. Drawing in a deep breath to focus past the sensation, Natsuki brought her arms up and back, a subtle stretch answering along her triceps as she turned her palms against one another.

"Now aren't you a lovely sight?" Shizuru said, reaching into the box again.

She pulled out another rope of the same color and moved to Natsuki's side, folding it in half before starting to encircle her wrists. It wound around again and again before Shizuru slipped the loop at the end back through the ladder of bands locking Natsuki's hands together. Then Shizuru's arms came over her head, taking the remainder and pulling it across the front of her tensed biceps. Natsuki didn't understand exactly why until the stretched rope was urged between her lips.

"I can't have you making too much noise while I'm attending our friends, now can I?" The rope pulled insistently tighter, catching in Natsuki's teeth. "If you need to be let out, bow forward as far as you can, alright?"

Natsuki nodded, but the motion rippled from the cord gagging her to the bonds trapping her arms, forcing her shoulders straight. Her groan at the realization stirred a laugh from Shizuru, who tied off the rest of the harness holding her upper body. When Shizuru ensnared the two strands tucked in at her waist, Natsuki realized what the final step would be, and shivered.

"Do you know what _nageire_ is, Natsuki?" It had to be a rhetorical question with the gag in place, but she managed a hum of disagreement anyway. "Compared to other flower arrangement styles, some find it to be simplistic, but I like it. There's so much room for flexibility and color, but it can still stay modest."

Shizuru's voice dropped low, a hot note against the back of Natsuki's ear. "Although I expect you may stray from the latter soon enough."

She was to be a flower then, touched and arranged to Shizuru's liking, just another part of the ceremony that was about to begin. Natsuki trembled with desire, the notion shaking her to her core. It was that part of her body that answered when Shizuru drew the ends of rope up her back and looped it through either side of her wrists, pulling each one as tight as it would go. Her body bent like a bow as Shizuru finished the knots at the small of her back, ensuring both harnesses were inexorably entwined.  

There was nowhere for Natsuki to go. If she drew back from the gag, it threatened to topple her balance, but any pressure against her mouth was answered with a direct tug between her thighs, the layers of her kimono more encouragement than barrier as they rubbed against her. She whimpered around the cord, slick arousal answering the constant, shifting pressure.

"Now, there's one more rule to keep in mind." Shizuru's fingertips brushed down Natsuki's spine, plucking the ropes like an instrument's strings. "You aren't allowed to come until I say."

Natsuki's muffled moan was half arousal and half disbelief. She already ached enough from being tied up, and even drawing in a deep breath was enough to stimulate her, much less the idle play Shizuru's hands were doing right now.

She froze at the sound of the entry door to the teahouse sliding open. Mai and Mikoto's voices filtered in through the screen, and the idle thunk of one of them hitting their head on the low wooden bar followed. "Ow!"

It was Mikoto.

"Shizuru, are you in here already?" Mai called out, and Natsuki felt her entire body go ablaze at the idea that Mai might pull open the second door, that she might be seen like this--

Yet Shizuru rose to her feet in graceful silence, fetching the traditional bowl and whisk from a nearby shelf like she must have done a thousand times before. A light linen cloth was draped over her arm, a narrow wooden scoop for the matcha tucked along side it. Natsuki felt like a pendulum, swinging between anxiety and desperate desire as Shizuru drew the door on their side open and bowed to step through.

It was shut without haste, and the moment Natsuki was alone, she realized there hadn't been any reaction from Mai or Mikoto at all. They couldn't have seen her. Kneeling in the shadows, Natsuki tried to steady her breath, but every time someone spoke on the other side of the screen, her heart tripled its beat.

"Is Natsuki not here yet?" Mikoto asked, but Mai hushed her quickly.

"We're supposed to be quiet during this part,” Mai added, absent irony.

At first, Natsuki thought she might able to center herself on the silent familiarity of the ceremony, but that hope was dashed when Yuuichi and Chie slipped in through the front door to join everyone else. She knew their voices, their laughter, and bit harder into the rope to ensure that she stayed quiet when the rest of the cord shifted again.

It was too clever by half. The bondage would never abrade her skin when the kimono acted like a shield, which meant every brush of friction and tension only brought another pulse of pleasure with it. Natsuki was sure she'd soaked through her underwear, and the rub of wet silk around her clit was devious, ecstatic torment. How was she supposed to stay still when her restless body called for more and more?

The door between her and the tearoom slid open, and Natsuki swallowed a groan that was equal parts shock and sudden bliss. Shizuru stepped inside with a low bow and went to the shelf to secure more matcha, as if Natsuki wasn't there at all. The dismissal burned, propagating a thousand rebellious ideas--that she should make noise to catch her girlfriend's attention, that she should struggle--only for the cage of rope to firmly remind her of her place, at the mercy of Shizuru's skillful ties.

Then those warm eyes met hers, red as the lacquer on the bowl Shizuru reached for. Hunger blossomed in that gaze, taking in Natsuki from head to toe, and the lustful inspection made her twist against the cord before she could stop herself. Natsuki barely swallowed a moan, trembling while trying to settle again. Even that simple acknowledgement felt like Shizuru's hands on her body, giving and taking until she was strung so tight the only option was release.

But she hadn't been given permission for that.

Shizuru smiled, blew her a subtle kiss, and disappeared back into the other room. When the door slid shut once more, Natsuki gasped a curse against the gag, then quickly prayed no one had heard her. The playful chatter around the hearth continued unabated, punctuated by the slow pour of water, the idle swish of Shizuru's whisk. No one had a single clue that she was back here, no one but Shizuru.

The muscle in Natsuki's legs twinged, seeking relief from their current position, but when she rose up, the rope moved with her. Pressing her thighs together to steady herself only intensified the throbbing need in her clit, framed by the tease of each cord. If she lost her balance and fell forward, Shizuru would come back and make it all stop. Natsuki didn't want to stop; she wanted Shizuru's touch, she wanted to come just like this, entangled in surrender.

"Make sure to sip slowly now," her lover's voice carried through the screen, "the best things in life can never be rushed."

Natsuki could have screamed in frustration. Those words were for her, not the rest of the room, and she had no choice but to endure. To endure, and give in. That realization spilled over her like cold water, shoulders and thighs relaxing against the strongest part of her bonds. She was adrift in desire, floating along its surface with just enough air to breathe. Helpless, but not weak. This was a gift, not a curse.

After that, time melted into a golden haze across her mind, observed from a distance. She was secure in the shadows, so close to the release she sought, suspended between the waves of pleasure that lapped at her nerves. Natsuki felt an answering pulse of need with every deep breath, but she refused to pursue it, not until Shizuru returned.

Absently, she realized the teahouse was quieter than it was moments before, and the door opened one more time. Shizuru carried her ceremonial implements into the half-lit room, setting each back in place with the care that she had retrieved them. When the last piece was tucked away, Shiruzu dropped to her knees in front of Natsuki, their bodies a mere inch apart.

"You should see the look in your eyes right now, Natsuki." Shizuru's palm cupped her cheek, and even that simple contact wrenched a whimper out of Natsuki's throat. It was solid and warm and _real_ , not the phantom of sensation that she'd chased for who knew how long. "So vulnerable, so perfect. Is there something you want from me?"

Even if the rope wasn't gagging her, fitting words together would have been an impossible task. Natsuki nodded instead, shuddering as the harness jostled with her and rubbed through layers of silk to swollen folds. Desperation surrounded her like perfume, invisible but strong enough to catch the attention of anyone who dared close.

"That's what I thought," Shizuru whispered, and her other hand pressed right between Natsuki's thighs, finding the core of slick heat trapped there. "Our friends haven't left quite yet. They're enjoying the weather right outside, so you'll still have to be quiet. Understand?"

Natsuki nodded again, choking on a gasp as Shizuru's fingers started to rub around the swell of her clit in slow circles.

"Do you know how exciting it was to see you here when I came in?" A soft, pleased laugh left her lover's lips, Shizuru's fingers quickening. "Knowing that you would have given anything for me to step closer, to touch you."

A blush spread hot across Natsuki's face, but there was little point in denying the truth. Her hips jerked against Shizuru's hand, disturbing the rope with each twist and shift. Every inch of her body was raw with need, and she failed to muffle a moan as the tide of pleasure swelled through her, so close to cresting. She wanted to _break_ , to fall into a thousand pieces so Shizuru could fit her back together.

"Natsuki." Shizuru paused, the heel of her palm resting right against Natsuki's center. The call of her name snapped her to attention, a compass needle drawn north. "Count down from five in your head for me. Then you can come."

That was her only warning before Shizuru's fingers became wicked and quick, sparking so much heat and bliss with every touch that it was all Natsuki could do not to cry out. She anchored herself to the numbers at the last second; _five_ , her thighs burned from the restrained urge to buck and steal that last drop of pleasure she needed; _four_ , the rope pulled so tight against the edges of her mouth that her jaw begged for mercy; _three,_ she shook like a tree under the wind _;_ _two_ , it was too much, too much-- _one_ , she fell into Shizuru's eyes and surrendered everything.

In ecstasy's throes, Natsuki realized she must have opened her mouth to scream, because Shizuru's lips were suddenly on hers. They could only kiss so much around the limits of the rope, but it silenced the sound, fed it into Shizuru's lungs instead. Natsuki spiraled from aftershock to aftershock, every dose of pleasure echoed by the tug of the ropes until her body went limp from sheer exhaustion. If not for the cords locking her posture in place, she would have collapsed.

Shizuru kissed her again, softer this time. The hand at Natsuki's face made a careful path around her eyes, and wiped away tears she hadn't recognized falling. "There we go. Do you feel better now, sweet thing?"

Natsuki's ragged attempt at a _yes_ was answered with a loving smile, and she sniffled quietly as Shizuru moved behind her, fingers feeling out the knots that kept her from freedom. When the two harnesses were separated, allowing her legs and arms to move independently, Natsuki sagged forward, betrayed by the weight of her own body. Shizuru guided her upright again with a light arm around her stomach, then undid the tie holding her wrists together.

The gag fell with it, draped between Natsuki's teeth until she relaxed her jaw and allowed the rest to drop. Her arms felt like lead, hanging at her sides like they weren't attached to her at all, save by distant sparks of pleasure that sang through her blood. Feeling returned as Shizuru massaged her shoulders, encouraging the natural flow of heat and sensation by rubbing down her biceps, the bend of her elbows, both forearms.

Special attention was paid to her wrists, where the cords had left a faint imprint through the sleeves of Natsuki's kimono. Shizuru helped Natsuki fold her hands into her lap to rest there, then started to loosen the ropes binding her thighs and hips. She moaned quietly as the cords between her thighs were pulled free, a slow but stimulating necessity. Coils of purple surrounded Natsuki on the floor, fallen like idle decoration as Shizuru's arms came to hold her from behind.

A kiss was placed on Natsuki's shoulder, then on top of her hair. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Oh, but her voice was shattered, cracks weaving through every syllable. "Shizuru."

"It's alright. We're not in any hurry," Shizuru whispered, smoothing her palms up and down Natsuki's thighs. "You can take as long as you need to."

Eventually, Natsuki found the will to straighten out her legs, stretching the last of the unspent tension from each one. She leaned back against Shizuru, soothed by every kind touch that returned the ruined state of her clothes back to something resembling composure. When they were home, she would have to shower and change, but for now, this was more than enough.

"You know me so well," Natsuki mumbled under her breath.

Shizuru's airy laugh filled the whole room. "That's my job, isn't it, darling? Happy anniversary."

"Happy anniversary," Natsuki echoed, the words ending on a smile. "Do you think you could make me an actual cup of tea? I'm parched."

Shizuru rose to her feet without hesitation, and Natsuki watched her choose the finest cup on the shelf, her heart perfectly at peace.

\--


End file.
